Location-Based Startups Partner with BMW

BMW becomes every day more involved with startups and new technologies. Last month, location-based services app Glympse announced a partnership with BMW. The app enabled …

BMW becomes every day more involved with startups and new technologies. Last month, location-based services app Glympse announced a partnership with BMW. The app enabled Prague residents to sign up to test drive a BMW 1 Series by “liking” the automaker’s Czech Facebook fan page.

But the cool factor comes from the ability to track the vehicles’ movement in real-time via the app.

Fans of BMW’s Czech Facebook page can enter their location within Prague city limits to request that a car be dispatched for a test drive.
“We wanted to create a campaign that allows Facebook fans to step out of the BMW online world into the BMW offline world within minutes,” said Philipp Arbter, innovation manager for emerging media at the automaker’s Munich headquarters via email.

According to BMW, the experiment has proven to be successful and the marketing gimmick fits the profile of the new 1 Series’ buyers.

Glympse is a two-year-old, venture-backed startup, which had a breakthrough over the summer after partnering up with mobile carrier Orange to track the location of ice cream trucks in London.

Glympse is currently closing in on 1.5 million users, said Bryan Trussel, CEO of the company.